I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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The village chief of Harriet’s Territory left the office after roughly briefing on the village’s economic situation and industrial structure.

The only ones left in the office were Baron Harriet Jeongjae and his assistant Jenis Harker. Now that there was no one left to mind their manners, the two resumed their earlier conversation that had been interrupted by the topic of bandits.

“Do those bandits have a cooperative relationship with the villagers?”

Jenis made a sharp conjecture. Jeongjae nodded.

“If that weren’t the case, complaints about it would have surfaced first. If a bandit group is lurking around, as Count Harker said, then their only demand would be of the newly appointed powerful noble lord.”

“If there is cooperation between the villagers and the bandits… then digging up information from the villagers would indeed be a dangerous act.”

“Right. If we show our intention to eradicate them, there’s a possibility they might hide deeper. Anyway, there’s no reason for us to go poking the hornet’s nest. We need to solve this matter discreetly, just the two of us.”

“This must be the first time we’ve worked alone like this, Professor. I hope there are more opportunities in the future.”

Jenis chuckled lightly. Jeongjae, nodding, wore a faint smile on his face.

“There will be plenty of opportunities. In this territory, the only capable and reliable person is you. Anyway, let’s think about how to resolve this issue.”

“We need to consider how such a union between the villagers and the bandits could even be possible in the first place. Of course, that is assuming the conjecture is true.”

“I thought about the possibility of the bandits coercing the villagers through force or hostage-taking. However, that seems unlikely. The atmosphere is too peaceful for that to be the case. Those who are coerced would still emit a certain kind of scent that indicates their predicament.”

“I didn’t feel that type of atmosphere either. So I’ll dismiss that possibility.”

“It’s also unlikely that the bandits’ activities bring any benefit to the village. There are no other targets in the vicinity to raid, and attempting to ambush traders passing through would only harm the village. Given the agricultural period, this territory requires the export of seafood and the import of agricultural products. If rumors spread of bandits running amok and trade comes to a halt, the people here would have to live on fish dipped in shrimp paste all year round.”

While that would still not be the worst meal, if they relied on just that for every meal, they would definitely face nutritional problems. Jenis nodded in agreement with Jeongjae’s viewpoint.

“The economic structure of this small territory under our family’s influence is managed directly by the Harker family. The Count’s household fulfills the villagers’ demands through de facto proxy trade, so robbing such merchants would effectively turn the Count’s house into an enemy.”

“Exactly. Count Harker must have clearly mentioned that those bandits are harming the Count Territory itself. The lack of such mention indicates that the bandit group doesn’t attack outsiders.”

One reason the Harker family boasts absolute influence over local aristocrats is because they actively lead proxy trade by utilizing the nearby Caprice system.

Harker was not a greedy man. He understood well that if he recklessly sought high profits, other nobles would find alternative routes through the system, resulting in greater loss.

Harker only sought rational profits, and most nobles were satisfied with that. The benefits they provided to Harker served as a kind of tax to maintain their strong ties with the powerful Count family, thus elevating the Count’s authority day by day without anyone harboring discontent.

“Then there’s no profit structure for the bandits. They wouldn’t raid the village or trade routes, leaving them with only poaching or hunting as options. But… even so, if they are a bandit group, finding enough game to survive would not be easy… Could they manage to secure enough to build rapport with the village?”

“A skilled hunter could potentially do that. But that’s not the problem. We need to think fundamentally about why a bandit group even exists.”

Jeongjae began to get to the core of the issue. As Jenis mulled over Jeongjae’s words, she suddenly clapped her hands with wide eyes.

“Deserters! They must be the ones who fled to the mountains, rejecting the conscription orders! The village chief is likely turning a blind eye to their actions to prevent further youth exodus, secretly communicating with them. In other words, there’s a high possibility that the village provides food and supplies to them!”

Hearing Jenis’s words, Jeongjae smiled faintly.

“That must be it. If that’s the case, the villagers wouldn’t be overly welcoming towards the return of the Baron. The worst crisis would be having an outsider come sit as the ruler, revealing their clandestine illicit activities.”

Jenis sighed at Jeongjae’s words.

“If your reasoning is correct, then they are individuals who have directly violated the Empire’s laws. We can’t treat them leniently.”

“I’m not planning to go easy on them either. But if the sentiment of the entire village sways towards them, this issue needs to be handled with caution.”

“So, you’ve encountered uncooperative citizens.”

“It’s a tragedy of the times. It’s a burden I have to bear.”

A brief silence passed between the two. While they had anticipated conditions from observing the territory’s state, it was still a complicated issue even in this small village for novices like them.

“Then, what’s your plan for resolving this issue? After all, all of this could just be speculation, and the truth might be completely different.”

“That’s true. First, we need to confirm that. But as I mentioned earlier, there’s no option to extract information from the villagers. If I were to initiate a large-scale search in nearby areas, it would serve as a stimulus in itself.”

“Let’s use magic to search the surrounding area thoroughly. It shouldn’t be hard for you, Professor.”

“However, I’d have to move directly if I were to employ search magic. To minimize suspicion, I don’t want to appear too frequently outside the territory.”

Jeongjae’s reluctance stemmed not only from worrying that the bandits might hide deeper, making it harder to track them down, but also a desire to avoid drawing the villagers into a battle of nerves.

The ideal scenario would be to find the bandits’ location and strike before the villagers even notice, quashing the threat before it escalates.

The lord seeking to locate them, the villagers hoping to conceal them. If that dynamic were to be established, the friendly relationship between both sides would shatter from the start, leaving Jeongjae no choice but to continue being wary of the villagers.

The rigid Margaret would rally to persuade them through speeches, but that wasn’t a method Jeongjae could choose, given that he lacked her pride.

“Then, it looks like I have no choice but to take action.”

Jenis spoke up. Jeongjae nodded.

“You may stand out here, but you’d be relatively better than me moving around. Just as you said. Instead of looking for traces of the bandits directly outside the territory, keep watch at night to see if any food is being secretly exported from the territory. You may need to stay awake for a night or two.”

“I don’t mind. I came here to help you with this kind of task from the beginning.”

Jenis wore a determined expression, not showing any signs of complaint. Jeongjae nodded while not forgetting to caution her.

“Alright. I’m counting on you. But after you locate them, don’t act rashly; report directly to me once you pinpoint their location. You’ll take charge of this matter.”

“This will be my first proper field mission! I’m feeling a bit nervous!”

Of course, Jeongjae could take this mission on himself. He didn’t fall short of Jenis in capability or experience. But he felt it was also important to give Jenis experience through missions where a little failure could still be somewhat recovered.

Jenis was a rare talent within the Empire. Jeongjae was convinced that, in some way or another, she would soon play a much larger part than her current position allowed.

In the end, tracking down a bandit group wasn’t a crisis Jeongjae couldn’t manage. While the likelihood of resolving the issue without conflict with the villagers was slim, that couldn’t be helped.

“Alright, let’s focus on investigating that matter and also consider other issues.”

Jeongjae reached out for a pile of documents he received from the village chief. Perhaps because the village itself was small, the reports on financial exports and territory management weren’t very thick.

“I noticed there are only about five people employed in Harriet’s Territory who are paid for their work.”

Jenis pointed out first. Although the Harker family wasn’t inclined to spend much on staff either, Jeongjae thought a vast sum was being used on the soldiers’ wages in the Count Harker’s territory.

“At least it’s good to have a cook.”

Jeongjae remarked. It seemed the male cook was conscripted into service, leaving only a female head chef listed. Based on how decent today’s lunch had been, it could be said she was worth keeping around as is.

“One cook, one village chief, and three guards. Goodness. While trade revenues keep rolling in, there’s no place for spending. If money gets circulated, can’t we come up with something to do?”

“With what means? The only things we can do is hire a ton of servants or maids. Even that needs to be moderated to avoid disturbing the villagers’ industries. We lack the hands to initiate a construction project, and if we want to invest, there are no reliable places to invest in. Fundamentally, there’s nothing that can be accomplished without people.”

It’s only in a world where money can do whatever, that having money equals having everything.

The reason trade revenues were coming in is that the Harker family was consistently paying for the marine products they purchased, but the reason profits continued to accumulate is that the volume of agricultural products they sold was limited.

This land is not self-sufficient enough to pursue trade with other territories simply because there is a surplus of cash. The Harker family is not selling only a little wealth, nor conducting unfair trades, but economically speaking, they are still dependent.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem that the village chief was greedy, and there were no coins hidden away in personal property, but in reality, having some more coins in this tiny village might hold little significance.

“Shall I speak to my father about this? If the territory wants to commercially develop, economic independence is necessary.”

“Don’t bother, it won’t matter. The current system regarding finances is too stable to touch. Instead, if they have surplus money, things will find their way to be spent if other matters get handled well.”

“Got it. If that’s how the Baron thinks.”

Having hastily flipped through the financial documents, Jeongjae now shifted his focus to the part regarding industrial reports. Jenis, who was sticking close by, gasped as she read the documents regarding haul quantities.

“They are controlling the catch quantities systematically. It seems there’s plenty of resources available.”

“It’s clear they’re drawing up only as much as they need. In fact, considering the village’s position, they only need enough for self-sufficiency and for trading grain, so they don’t require excessive resources to hoard.”

That meant, unless other significant reasons, such as climate change leading to water temperature changes, arose, the fishing industry could maintain its current state. Naturally, in this world, there was no climate change, so extreme changes in haul quantities were not expected in the future.

“If we try to meddle needlessly, it might just collapse…”

“But it’s okay to intervene a little in the fisheries, right?”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

Jeongjae asked as he blinked at Jenis’s words. Jenis shrugged.

“Well, while there’s no need to change the catch amounts… if it’s your skills, cutting down on labor needed for fisheries shouldn’t be too much trouble, right? If that’s possible, then we could even consider starting a business in the currently lacking cropland in this territory.”

“That… has a point. Since we lack farming experts here, we might face some trial and error with cultivation, but as long as fishing works out, the impact wouldn’t be too severe.”

Jeongjae was a Grand Mage. Magic was an overwhelming force, and naturally, finding ways to maintain the same haul quantity with fewer personnel wouldn’t be too difficult. And that would surely become the only chance for Jeongjae to provide significant contributions to this territory.

“Alright. Then let’s pay attention to that aspect. Maybe it’s just the first day, but I feel a burst of eagerness!”

The bloodthirsty young Baron exclaimed. The return of the Baron had just begun to take its first steps.